The present invention relates to ultrasound transducer temperature or other fault measurement. In particular, an ultrasound transducer temperature or operation is observed for compliance with FDA, UL/IEC or other requirements.
The IEC standards require that an ultrasound transducer temperature not exceed a predetermined limit of 43 deg C. Some ultrasound probes include one or more thermistors added to the stack of the transducer. The thermistors provide a level of fault protection by measuring temperature of the ultrasound transducer and activating a series of protective measures when the temperature reaches a certain value. However, adding thermistors to ultrasound transducer increases the cost of transducers; consequently, most transducers are not built with thermistors. It may be difficult, problematic or impossible to add thermistors to an already existing transducer.